AgoraBee claims new asset-tracking tech will dramatically lower costs
Iain Morris
August 20, 2014
Swiss asset-tracking player AgoraBee has launched a new radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology aimed at reducing the cost of monitoring everything from high-value trailers, trucks and their cargo to everyday items like ladders and tools.
The company claims the technology will lower the cost of tracking key industrial assets worldwide from hundreds to just tens of dollars.
The technology uses ‘tags’ that continuously communicate status information to a truck- or office-based dongle reader, capable of monitoring the presence of all tags regardless of their transmitting carrier frequency.
The dongle reader has been designed to be compatible with all major brands of industrial GPS tracker, says AgoraBee (Renens, Switzerland).
“Large financial gains in operating efficiency can be realized by any business that relies on certain key mobile assets to operate,” said Louis Harik, AgoraBee’s R&D director. “This can range of high value trucks and trailers down to simple ladders and small but valuable hand-held tools.”
“What our … RFID solution is designed to do is remove both the cost and complexity from mobile asset tracking to allow practically any mobile asset to be tracked and monitored either standalone within a warehouse or factory over a range of up to 500 meters, or in conjunction with any mainstream GPS tracking unit for global coverage anywhere in the world,” he added.
The technology has been developed in collaboration with chip company Nordic Semiconductor (Oslo, Norway), which says that despite the focus on Bluetooth Smart there remains a sizeable market for proprietary radiofrequency solutions that do not need to communicate with any other devices than themselves.
“Proprietary wireless technology can also be aggressively customized and optimized for the individual needs of an application, including ultra low power consumption, cost, and operational reliability in specific operating environments,” said Geir Langeland, Nordic’s director of sales and marketing.